Automatically-displayed synchronizer-indicator for clocks.



E. A. HUMMBL.

AUTOMATICALLY DISPLAYED SYNGHRONIZER INDICATOR FOR CLOCKS.

1,066,016. Patented July 1,1913.

2 ms-sum 1.

APPLICATION FILED AUG. 10, 1911.

E. A. HUMMEL. AUTOMATICALLY DISPLAYED SYNOHRONIZER INDICATOR FOR GLOOKS.

APPLICATION FILED AUG.10, 1911.

Patented July 1, 1913.

'2 SHEETS-$111231 2.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ERNEST A. HUMMEL, OF ST. PAUL, MINNESOTA, ASSIGNOR TO ALBERT L. HAMAN,OF ST. PAUL, MINNESOTA.

AUTOMATICALLY-DISPLAYED SYNCHRONIZER-INDICATOR FOR CLOCKS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July 1, 1913.

Application filed August 10, 1911. Serial No. 643,260.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, ERNEST A. HUMMEL, acitizen of the United States, residing at St. Paul, in the county ofRamsey and State of illinnesota, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Automatically-Displayed Synchronizer Indicators forClocks, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in automatically displayedsynchronizer indicators for clocks, adapted for use with clocks whichare to be synchronized at greater intervals of time than every hour, forinstance every twenty-four hours or every twelve hours. Its object is toprovide means actuated by the synchronizing mechanism of such clockswhich will visually indicate whether the clock was synchronized at theproper time.

In the embodiment of the invention shown in the drawings I have provideda visual indicator in position to be moved by the syn chronizing leverinto indicating or display position and then to be held in that positionuntil just before the arrival of the neXt regular twenty-four hoursynchronizing period, so that the clock will always show whether it wassynchronized, as it should have been at the last regular period.

To this end the invention consists in the construction, combination, andarrangement of parts hereinafter described and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings forming part of this specification, Figure1 is a front view of the indicator and synchronizing mechanism of aclock with some parts broken away, showing the indicator in displayposition; Fig. 2 is a similar view somewhat more in detail, showing thegears for operating the notched wheel; Fig. 3 is a side view of so muchof a clock as is necessary to show the indicator and synchronizingmechanism, partly broken away; Fig. 4 is a front view of a fragment ofthe synchronizing and indicator mechanism, showing the position of theparts at the beginning of the stroke of the synchronizing lever; andFig. 5 is a section on line 0200 of Fig. 4.

In the embodiment of the invention shown in the drawings A representsthe framework of the clock and B the dial. The synchronizing mechanismhere shown is of a kind well known in the art and comprises a bell cranksynchronizing lever C pivotally supported upon the framework and havingtwo divergent arms, an arm 2 for synchronizing the seconds hand 3, andan arm 4 for synchronizing the minute hand 5. This lever is connected bymeans of a link 6 with the armature of an electro magnet D, which is incircuit with, and operated by, a standard or master clock not shown. Atits outer end the arm 4 is arched upward so as to form two separatedhammer ends 7 to engage the diametrically opposite lugs 8 upon the diskor annular shoulder 9 when the synchronizing lever is thrust down. Thisdisk is carried by the minute hand sleeve 10, and the seconds and minutehands are driven by the usual clockwork mecha nism, which is not hereshown as it forms no part of the present invention.

In order to lock the synchronizing lever from being actuated except atthe even hour, a thing that might happen by reason of false contacts inthe electro circuit of the magnet D, the arched end of the arm 4 has anotched lug 11, which is normally engaged by a pin 12 on a dependingpivoted arm 13, the end of which overlaps the inner face of a large disk14 and stands in the path of a pin 15 upon the disk. This disk isintegral with or fast upon the minute hand sleeve, so that it revolveswith the minute hand. Once in each revolution of the disk 14 the pin 15will engage and wipe the end of the arm 13, and thereby move the pin 12out of engagement with the lug 11. The pin 15 is so positioned on thedisk as to engage the arm 13 about two minutes before an even hour andto pass it so as to leave it free to swing back against the lug 11 abouttwo minutes after the even hour. It is only during the interval when thenotched lug is thus released that the synchronizing lever can be moveddown to synchronize the clock. This locking arrangement for thesynchronizing lever is of a kind well known in the art and need not befurther described.

The present invention resides particularly in connecting with thesynchronizing mechanism certain means which shall be displayed by theactuation thereof and remain displayed until the arrival of thenextsynchronizing period, it being understood that the present inventionis designed particularly for use where the synchronizing occurs atintervals greater than one hour, apparatus for synchronizing at shorterintervals being shown in my co-pending application filedcontemporaneously with this application, Serial No. 643,259. In theembodiment of the invention which is shown in the drawings, an indicatorarm E is pivotally supported in the framework below the synchronizinglever C. The arm E has at the top a laterally projecting arm 16 and adownwardly projecting arm 17. Upon the arm 16 is a stud 18 in positionto be engaged by a spring 19 upon the arm 4 of the synchronizing leverC. This spring is secured at one end to the lever C near its point ofpivotal support, while the other end 20 is looped or hooked over the arm24. Thus the spring, which extends down below the arm 4, forms aresilient cushion which, when the lever C is thrust down engages thestud 18 on the lateral arm of the indicating arm E. This leverterminates at the bottom in a display plate 21, upon which may beplacedany desired symbol, such as the distinguishing color or the letters O Kshown in the drawings. When the stud 18 is struck by the synchronizinglever, as above described, the indicating lever E, which works at theback of the dial, will be moved across the inner side thereof and intoregistration with a hole 22 in the dial, through which the display face21 will thus become visible from the outside. If desired the arm E canbe provided with an extension plate 28 bearing any desired symbol suchas a distinguishing color or the words Not Set shown in the drawings.This plate is so positioned that it will be visible through the hole inthe dial when the indicating arm E falls back after being engaged by thesynchronizing mechanism.

lVith the mechanism just described the arm E will be moved by eachimpact of the synchronizing lever so as to bring the plate 21. intoregistration with the dial opening 22, but will fall back by gravityinto normal non-indicating position the moment the synchronizing leversprings back. In order automatically to hold it from falling back un tiljust before the next synchronizing period, which in the embodiment ofthe invent-ion shown in the drawings will occur twenty-four hours later,the following mechanism is provided.

Pivotally supported upon the framework at a point between its ends is alever 24, which here stands below the disk 14. At one end of the leveris a notched latch 25 adapted to receive and interlock with a pin 26upon the arm 17 of the arm E, while at the other end is a lug 27, havingpreferably a beveled face, in position to be engaged and wiped by atooth or trip 28 upon the inner side of the notched wheel 29. This wheelis rotatably mounted upon the framework of the clock adjacent to thedisk 14, and is formed with twelve notches 30. This wheel is driven fromthe minute hand sleeve by means of the meshing gears 31 upon the minutehand sleeve and 32 rotatably supported in the frame. The teeth of thesegears are so adjusted that the gear 82 will make a complete revolutiononce in every two hours. Upon the gear 82 is a pin 33 in position toenter the notches 30 in the wheel 29, whereby the gear 32 in making onecomplete revolution will turn the notched wheel 29 the distance betweentwo adjacent notches, or one-twelfth of a revolution. Thus the notchedwheel 29 will be turned through one complete revolution everytwenty-four hours. It follows that the pin 28 will engage and trip thelever 24, which holds the indicating lever, once every twentyfour hours.Obviously the frequency with which the lever 24 is tripped will dependupon the speed to which the gear 32 is geared and upon the number ofnotches in the wheel 29, or upon the number of pins 28 which areused,but as clocks are usually synchronized every twentyfour hours, Ihave shown the apparatus adapted for that in terval of time.

In operation, when the synchronizing arm C is actuated and thrown downthe spring 19 will strike the stud 18 and turn the arm E so as to bringthe display plate 21 into view through the opening 22 in the dial. Bythe same movement of the indicating arm E the pin 26 will. be throwninto looking engagement with the latch 25, whereby the indicator will beheld in this display position after the synchronizing lever returns toits normal. position, as shown in Fig. 4, Just before the nextsynchronizing period arrives the trip 28 upon the notched wheel 29 willwipe and pass the lug 27 upon the lever 24, and thereby turn the leversulliciently to release the latch 25 from the pin 26, when theindicating arm E will. drop back by gravity into the position indicatedin Fig. 4, carrying the plate 21 out of registration with the opening inthe dial and the Not Set plate 23 into registration therewith. In Fig. 4the trip 28 is shown still in engagement with the lug 27 after it hastripped the latch so as to release the pin 26. If the clock is nowsynchronized at the regular period, the parts will remain onlymomentarily in the position shown in Fig. 4, for as soon as thesynchronizing lever is actuated, the indicating lever E will be againthrown up and locked in the position shown in Fig. 1 with the indicatorplate 21 displayed through the hole in the dial. But if the operatorshould fail to actuate the synchronizing mechanism at that period, theparts will remain in the non-indicating position represented in Fig. 4,showing that the clock was not synchronized as it should have been atthe last regular synchronizing period.

I do not herein claim broadly the principle of an indicator actuated bythe synchronizing mechanism, because this is the subject of broad claimsin my co-pending application above referred to, Serial No. 643,259 thisapplication being intended to cover the particular adaptation of thatprinciple to clocks which are to be synchronized oftener than once anhour.

I claim as my invention:

1. In a clock, the combination with synchronizing mechanism and minutehand sleeve, of an indicator adapted to be moved into display positionby the synchronizing mechanism, means automatically interlock.- ing withsaid indicator to hold it in such position, and means driven from thesleeve for releasing it from said interlocking means at time intervalsgreater than one hour.

2. In a clock, the combination with synchronizing mechanism and minutehand sleeve, of an indicator in position to be moved into displayposition by the synchronizing mechanism, a latch in the path of theindicator and automatically locking therewith to hold the same indisplay position, a freely operating wheel rotatably mountedindependently of said sleeve, but driven therefrom, and a trip carriedby said Wheel in position to trip the latch and thereby release theindicator at predetermined times.

3. In a clock, the combination With synchronizing mechanism and minutehand sleeve, of a latch, an indicator adapted to be moved by thesynchronizing mechanism into locking engagement with the latch, a gearwheel mounted upon the frame and driven from the minute hand sleeve, afreely operating notched wheel adjacent thereto, a

pin upon the gear wheel for entering the notches of the notched wheeland thereby turning the same at regulated intervals, and a pin carriedby the notched Wheel in posi-- tion to engage and trip the latch atpredetermined times.

4:. In a clock, the combination with synchronizing mechanism, of anindicator in position to be moved into display position by thesynchronizing mechanism, a latch arranged in the path of the indicatorand automatically locking therewith to hold the same in displayposition, a freely-operating clock-work driven wheel mountedindependently of the minute hand sleeve, and a trip carried by saidwheel in position to trip the latch and thereby release the indicator atpredetermined times.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

ERNEST A. HUMMEL.

Witnesses:

ARTHUR P. LOTHROP, H. SwANsoN.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. G.

